Family needs and related factors in caring for a family member with mental illness: adopting assertive community treatment in Japan where family caregivers play a large role in community care.

AIM: In Japan the family plays a large role in community care for persons with mental illness; therefore the aim of the present study was to describe the needs of family caregivers related to assertive community treatment (ACT) and to analyze the relationship of these needs to underlying factors.
METHODS: Participants were recruited from the membership of three family associations of persons with mental illness. Of the 224 family members, 152 (67.9%) completed a self-report questionnaire consisting of the following measures: demographic variables, family life difficulty scale, global burden, general life satisfaction, subjective health status, family rejection scale, quantity of supportive behaviors, and needs for ACT.
RESULTS: More than 70% of participants reported that service components of ACT would be beneficial, especially in the future. Functions that helped maintain the ordinary routine of family life were significantly correlated with current needs for ACT.
CONCLUSIONS: When a person has chronic mental illness the family has many needs related to ACT. When functions that maintained the ordinary routine of family life were disturbed, the need for ACT support increased. Elderly parents or siblings were also concerned about the future, when caring for the member with mental illness would become more difficult.